California, Here We Come
by Mallikad
Summary: Lorelai and Rory take an impromptu trip to California. Lit.
1. California, Here We Come

**Disclaimer:** Gilmore Girls and all its characters and situations are property of Amy Sherman-Palladino and The WB/The CW. I do not own anything and will not make any profit from this story.

**A/N:** I know it seems a bit weird for Lorelai to actually try and bring Jess and Rory back together, but really her only thought is "make my daughter happy" and she realizes that only Jess can make sure that happens.

**A/N:** Okay, I know I haven't updated in forever, but I started uni, lost a couple of friends, and started living all alone in Europe while my family lives in Vietnam, so.. Life happened. And I know that's not really an excuse and that everyone uses it, but oh well. Hope you enjoy this little thing I wrote aaages ago. :) And Happy New Year!

* * *

"When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's amooooore!" Lorelai sang as she opened the back door and dropped the pizza box on the kitchen table. She was still revelling from her and Rory's recent trip to Europe. In three weeks her baby would be starting college. And weirdly enough, Lorelai seemed more excited than Rory and Rory seemed more depressed than Lorelai.

She poked her head in the living room. Her daughter was watching The OC again. Lorelai sighed. It seemed like that was all Rory had done since coming back from Europe. It was either The OC or Veronica Mars. Lorelai wasn't stupid. She knew what the common denominator was in both shows.

California.

That and the presence of a bad boy character in each show. Sarcastic, monosyllabic, rebellious. She had to hand it to Rory, she was good at wallowing. Lorelai had never wallowed like that. Ever. And to top it all of, Phantom Planet's California had been ragingly popular in Europe, especially in Western Europe: Italy, Spain, England, Belgium, France, Germany. OC mania was sweeping the world. And Rory got caught up in it. That was her reason for watching the show. At least, that's what she told her mother.

Lorelai wasn't stupid though. She knew Rory missed Jess. As much as she hated it- _him_, she hated seeing her daughter like this. The kid really liked Jess, and he had done a number on her. Broken her heart in more ways than Ryan had broken Marissa's heart, in more ways than Logan had broken Veronica's heart. Lorelai was all too familiar with the characters now. Ryan and Logan were the typical bad boys. They were constantly brooding, getting into fistfights. They were monosyllabic, sarcastic, fans of dry humor, plus they both came from dysfunctional families. Both were the objects of affection of girls trying to change them, make them good, better.

Lorelai entered the living room and turned off the TV.

"Hey!" Rory protested.

"The madness ends here, hon," Lorelai said gently as she sat down on the coffee table, facing her daughter.

"What madness mom?" Rory asked innocently.

Lorelai sighed and stood up. She had a new tactic.

"Okay, get up."

"Why?" Rory asked apprehensively.

"We're going to California," She turned on her heel and mad her way up the stairs, a mission to pack her bags in sight.

* * *

"It's warm."

"The sun is shining in my eyes. There's no clouds."

"It's warm."

"I don't think anyone here even _owns_ a jacket."

"And it's warm."

"Mom, stop it."

"But it is. It's really hot."

"Then you should have stayed in the hotel, where the AC would've kept you cool."

Lorelai gasped." I am so cool."

Rory rolled her eyes at her mother's lame joke and continued walking down the boardwalk.

"What are we doing here? We don't belong here. Look at all these girls, mom. They're in roller skates and bikinis. And we're East Coast girls. With our winter coats and our boots."

"Rory, we are here to enjoy California. One of the main tourist hot spots of our country. That, and we're here to help your heart heal."

"Have you been watching Dr. Phil again?"

"Rory, seriously, you miss him. I know you do. It's okay for you to miss him. And it's okay for you to say it out loud. And… I was bored, okay, there was nothing else on."

"I _don't _miss him." Rory said firmly and turned away from her mother, continuing their trip down the boardwalk.

"Honey, you _do_," Lorelai said, following her daughter's determined pace. "Look, I know he broke your heart and I know you wanna hate him-"

"I _do_ hate him."

"But I also know that you miss him. And it's okay, sweets."

Rory stopped and faced the ocean for a few seconds before replying, "How can you hate and miss someone at the same time?"

"When that person is the one for you."

Rory glared at her mother while Lorelai just smiled devilishly.

"We don't even know where he's staying," Rory said as she continued down the boardwalk. Lorelai smiled, Rory had caved.

"Venice Beach," she replied, unable to keep the grin out of her voice.

"How do you know?"

"Luke."

"I should have known, what'd you do? Blackmail him?"

"Oh, young grasshopper, I did some fine detective work."

"That's great, Gibbs, but can we get a move on?"

"Anxious, are we?"

"No, I just want to get his over with. The sooner it's done the sooner we can go home," Rory grumbled.

* * *

"420, Mayfair Avenue. Here we are," Lorelai said, reading the address. "Looks cute, doesn't it, hon?"

"Whatever," Rory replied.

"Okaay," Lorelai said to herself. She opened the gate and was met by loud barks at the second gate.

She let out a cry of surprise. "Oh! Damnit. That's 10 years off my life, right there."

"Can I help you?" Came a voice from the porch.

Lorelai looked up to see a young woman with short, blonde hair and an I-can-take-you look on her face.

"Oh, yes, hi, euhm, I'm Lorelai Gilmore and this is my daughter Rory."

"And what, she needs an organ?"

"What? Oh, no, no, that was funny though. No, we're here to see Jess Mariano."

"Jess Mariano? Why? What's he done?"

"He hasn't changed," Lorelai whispered to Rory before turning back to Sasha. "He didn't do anything really, we're just here to visit him."

"Really?" They had piqued Sasha's interest. "Well, come on in. They don't bite unless you bite them first."

"That's… comforting," Lorelai said uneasily as she opened the gate, letting Rory in first.

"Where are your maternal instincts?"

"They bit the dog."

--

"Hi, I'm Sasha," she held out her hand.

"Hi, I'm Lorelai and this is my daughter Rory."

"Nice to meet you. So can I get you anything, anything to drink?"

Rory shook her head. "No, thanks. We're just here to see Jess," Lorelai replied politely.

"Right. Jess. How do you know him?"

"Oh, we're friends with his uncle, Luke, and we met Jess through him. Through Luke. And we were here on vacation and remembered that Jess was living here now, so we decided to stop by," Lorelai was an excellent liar after years of practice. You had to be, growing up with Emily Gilmore.

Sasha was about to direct them to Jess' room when he appeared in the doorway.

"Lorelai-what? What's going on?"

"Hey, Jess," Lorelai greeted with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "We were just in the neighbourhood and thought we'd drop by. You know, say hello."

Rory paled and just stared at him, trying hard not to cry. This was going to be a lot harder than she thought it would be.

Seeing Rory's face, Sasha understood how they knew Jess. Jess had dated the poor girl. An uncomfortable silence fell over the group.

"Hey, Jess, why don't you show Rory your room," Sasha suggested.

"Yeah, sure," he said, avoiding Rory's gaze.

"It's just down the hall." Lorelai heard him say as soon as the two teenagers disappeared through the doorway.

"So, have a seat," Sasha said, motioning to the couch. "I heard you run an inn."

--

Rory stood near the door while Jess stood near his headboard. Both shuffling their feet, looking at the ceiling, the window, anything, anywhere but each other. Much like that time in Luke's apartment when they had first gotten together.

"You weren't in the neighbourhood, were you?" Jess asked, all the while knowing the answer. Rory shook her head.

"Mom dragged me down here."

Jess winced at the word dragged. She hadn't wanted to come. He deserved it. He knew it.

"So, how've you been?" He asked quietly.

Rory snapped.

"How have I been? Jess, are you that dense?!"

"I-"

"Remember how I sounded when you called after my graduation? That's how I've been!"

"Ror-"  
"You completely took me for granted, Jess."

"Rory, I never took you for granted, believe me."

"I don't get it. Why did you leave? I didn't do anything to deserve this. You had your fun, and you left. Is that it? Have I hit the jackpot yet? What did I do? Did I earn this or something?"

"Rory-"

"Could you not see how I was practically begging on my knees? For-for anything! Anything-_you_. When mom told me you might not be going to school, I had a suspicion, but I didn't want to believe that you'd lie to me. But of course, you were on a mission to prove me wrong. You took my trust and you threw it out the window."

"Rory, I never meant to-"

"Why didn't you go to school? Why did you lie to me? Why did you leave? And why won't you ever let me all the way in?!"

Rory was full out sobbing now.

Jess didn't know what to do with her. With himself.

"Rory..."

"Were you that unhappy?"

"No, but you were."

"I wasn't."

"You wanted someone like Dean."

"I _want_ you."

"Rory, I had to leave, so I could be a better person. I would have just dragged you down. I didn't want you to be the girl dating the high school dropout, who worked at Wal-Mart and at the Diner and who wasn't going anywhere with his life."

"No, you don't get to be the gentleman here. With your intentions all noble. You broke my heart, Jess. You could have at least told me."

"I wasn't trying to hurt you."

"Oh, imagine if you tried."

"Rory, _I'm sorry_."

--

"I think I'll take that soda now." Lorelai said awkwardly from the living room.

* * *

**So there you have it. Loved it? Hated it? Let me know. **

**Reviews feed my muse, and the more she gets, the faster the next chapter of EFCWBJ comes out! =D**


	2. AN

Author's Note.

Guys, I dunno if _any_ of you noticed the _complete_ at the top of the page? :p

This is a one-shot.

All I ever wanted to do with this story was get a confrontation, a fight out of Rory and Jess, I'm not taking this story anywhere.

Sorry.

Xx Mallikad


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